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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28481532">you don’t have to hide anymore</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/redheqd/pseuds/redheqd'>redheqd</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>ADHD, ASL, Angst, Angst and Feels, Bee Toby Smith | Tubbo, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Everyone is a type of hybrid, Exhaustion, Family Drama, Family Dynamics, Family Fluff, Found Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Hybrid AU, Hybrids, Mentioned Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Neurodiversity, Piglin Hybrid Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Raccooninnit, Self-Acceptance, Self-Esteem Issues, Sickfic, Tommy-centric, asd, tommy has adhd, will add more tags</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 15:29:08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>8,753</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28481532</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/redheqd/pseuds/redheqd</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Most people on the SMP are some kind of hybrid. Some people had wings, some had tails. Tommy was known as one of the few actual humans around, and he was fine with that.<br/>That was until he started to change.<br/>-<br/>a rewritten one-shot i made into a seperate story, because im a sucker for some raccooninnit angst<br/>its mostly centric around self-image and sudden change</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>77</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1348</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. regular</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Something is different. Tommy feels absolutely awful.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tommy was a normal human. That was it. He was a regular human, no wings or tail. No strange eye colour or animal ears. He was just Tommy, that one human kid that Phil adopted. And he was fine with that. <br/>Despite being in a family of hybrids, Tommy was just a normal human. Phil had adopted the boy at age 2, not fully knowing what kind of species the little boy actually was. <br/>As time went on, and Techno and Wilbur both started showing more and more of their hybrid features, Tommy was just Tommy. He was perfectly content with that.</p><p>The others had always accepted him, of course. He was no different from them, really. Sure, teasing and some people poking fun at him occured, but it was all in good fun. Almost everyone around him were hybrids, so he did stick out like a sore thumb. <br/><br/>His best friend Tubbo, who also lived with his family, was a bee hybrid. Insect hybrids weren't very common, as they are often weak and fragile. But Tubbo wasn't weak. Tubbo was just as strong and could also be as annoying and mean as Tommy, he just simply knew when to stop. When they were young, Tubbo had at first been scared of Tommy. Stories of ruthless humans who killed hybrids had made Tubbo terrified of the younger human in front of him. But, when he realised Tommy was simply all bark and no bite, he had instead wanted to get along with Tommy. Tommy had been so very annoyed by Tubbo's constant buzzing that he almost wanted to tell his dad to stop inviting the brunette over. But the two of them eventually formed a truce that blossomed into a close friendship. It was almost impossible to find Tommy without Tubbo, or Tubbo without Tommy. They were basically glued onto each other. </p><p>His dad, Phil, was a bird hybrid. His big, feathery wings had protected Tommy and made him feel safe for as long as he could remember. Phil was sweet and a genuinely nice guy, it was impossible not to like him.<br/>Techno and Wilbur were the same age, and were both older than Tommy.<br/>Techno was a piglin hybrid. Hostile hybrids were often looked down upon. But Techno was strong and was not afraid to stand up for his those he held close. He help Tommy train his swordfighting, and Tommy knew no one would hurt him as long as Techno was there. <br/>Wilbur was a fish hybrid. Fortunately, his human genetics took over most of his dolphin features. He could breathe normal air, but still had gills and very sensetive skin. Wilbur would often sing or tell stories for Tommy, keeping him entertained when he was feeling sad. All in all, Tommy loved his family and he loved them for accepting who he was.</p><p>Of course, he did get jealous at times. Breathing underwater or flying seemed so cool, and he was just regular. But he didn't complain, hybrids had a tough time and were sometimes hunted down in certain areas. The SMP was a safe space for hybrids to live in, and Tommy couldn't be happier to live there. Even if he was human.</p><p>That was what Tommy knew, he was human. That's what he thought. There's no way he'd be a hybrid, most hybrids get their "features" between age eleven to age fifteen. Tommy was sixteen. Of course he's human. <br/>That was what he thought, that was what he knew, until one day he woke up and felt different.<br/><br/><br/>It was a Thursday morning in late march, Tommy awoke groggily from the sunlight seeping through his window and the alarm clock on his phone beeping loudly, right next to his ear. He sighed and sat on the edge of his bed and realised he had a splitting headache, and for some reason his ears felt sore. He groaned in his usual dramatic manner and yawned. He’d eat breakfast first, take a painkiller later. </p><p>Tiredly he walked out of his room and into the kitchen. The rest of his family as well as Tubbo already sat there. Tubbo brightened up as Tommy walked in, giving him a soft smile. The younger boy did the same. <br/>Techno was just drinking pure black coffee, Phil was reading a book and Wilbur was eating a toast. They all acknowledged Tommy’s appearance in their own way. Phil by smiling and waving, Techno by simply looking at him and Wilbur by actually saying something. </p><p>“You look tired.” <br/>Tommy cocked an irritated eyebrow up and made a face at Wilbur. </p><p>“Thanks.” <br/>He grabbed a cup of coffee, poured in some milk and a good amount of sugar and sat down at the table next to Tubbo. </p><p>It was unusually quiet at the table today. As Tommy and Tubbo both went to grab their bags and walk to school together, Tubbo’s antennas twitched anxiously. He buzzed nervously, and shot Tommy a look as he closed the front door. </p><p>“You okay? You’re unusually quiet.” <br/>Tubbo’s voice was laced with concern. The blonde boy sighed and gently massaged his temples as they started walking. The walk from their house to the school was about fifteen minutes, and his headache wasn’t getting better. His ears were also strangely sore still. </p><p>“Yeah. Just got a massive headache. ‘M fine.” Tubbo hummed skeptically, although it sounded more like a buzz again. They chatted like they always did when they walked to school, but Tommy was noticeably quieter today. After a while, Tubbo shrugged it off. </p><p>Their day went on as normal, but Tommy couldn’t pay any attention in school. He was strangely tired and his body felt sore. At lunch, he didn’t eat anything. Instead he went to the restroom to splash some cold water in his face.</p><p>Tommy hadn’t spoken to Tubbo or any of his friends since first period, simply having no energy to do so.But as he made his way to the restroom, he passed Quackity in the hallway. The older teen was looking down at his phone, but his head snapped up as soon as he saw Tommy and he walked up to him with a big grin. His yellow wings shuffled behind him. </p><p>“Hey! Thomas! Ey man!” <br/>And cue the exaggerated Mexican accent. Tommy chuckled but looked incredibly uncomfortable. It’s not that he didn’t like talking to the duck hybrid, but his headache made talking to the loud hyper Quackity absolute torture. He quickly mumbled something and walked away from the older teen. Quackity seemed hurt, confused but also concerned. To Tommy’s luck, he didn’t say anything else and let him go. </p><p>Tommy went inside the restroom, straight towards the sink. Luckily there was no one else in here right now. The last thing he wanted was more people talking to him.</p><p>The water in his face cooled him off a bit. But as he looked into the mirror, something felt weird. <br/>His ears were different. They were more... hairy? <br/>Tommy leaned forward and took a closer look. <br/>That wasn’t hair. He recognised that. <br/>That was fur.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>hope you liked it :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. sore</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Tommy doesn’t like change. In fact, he hated it.<br/>How could he possibly tell anyone about this?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tommy simply stared at himself in the mirror. Eyes comically wide and mouth slightly agape. Then, he yelled. <br/>A second later he snapped his jaw shut and slapped a hand over his mouth. He can’t scream in here, someone will wonder what’s going on!</p><p>But now Tommy wondered that too. Why in the world was there fur on his ears? <em>Fur</em>! He wasn’t a hybrid, he knew he was human. Right? <br/>It did make sense as he thought of it. When Tubbo’s antennas started growing he would always complain about having a headache and feeling sore. Apparently most hybrids feel like that when developing. But Tommy wasn’t a hybrid, no way. <br/>Come to think of it, his lower back had been aching and especially itchy today too. Tommy was scared, he didn’t know what was going on and he didn’t know how to tell anyone or hide this. He was close to calling Phil and asking him to drive him home. <br/>But before Tommy could think more about it, the door to the restroom opened. Tommy was startled and jumped a bit, causing his head to pound even more than before.</p><p>The guy who walked in was no one other than Tubbo, and he seemed very concerned. His antennas twitched vigorously and his face was painted in worry for his friend. Tommy took a deep breath and prayed to the gods that his ears weren’t that noticeable. </p><p>“Tommy! Where have you been? I haven’t seen you all day! Quackity told me you acted weirdly before, has something happened?” Tubbo hurried up to the taller boy and began to ask all the questions he could think of, completely forgetting Tommy’s earlier comment on him having a headache.</p><p>His wings buzzed endlessly and his mind raced. Tommy didn’t usually act like this, even if he was sick. This was new. Different. Tubbo’s mind kept repeating one thing. ‘Inform the colony. Quickly.’ Over and over. He couldn’t help it, it just happened whenever he panicked like this. <br/>Tommy groaned but found a little safety in hearing Tubbo’s familiar buzzing. He closed his eyes and sighed.</p><p>”I just feel like shit, big T. I-... I wanna go home.” <br/>He said the last part rather embarrassingly. He sounded like a tired toddler, but that’s what he felt like at the moment. He might as well be honest. <br/>Tubbo looked at him intensively and nodded. He brought his phone out of his pocket but before he dialled Wilbur’s number he took a quick look at Tommy’s ears. Tommy didn’t seem to notice as he was still standing with closed eyes. </p><p>“Tommy, you said you had a headache, yeah?” </p><p>“Yeah?” </p><p>“Does anything else hurt, or feel weird, at all?” <br/>Tubbo sounded a lot like Phil, but Tommy was too tired and in too much pain to make a remark or even acknowledge it. He was surprisingly more cooperative like this than he normally would be. </p><p>“Feel sore. Tired. For some reason my ears hurt.” <br/>Tubbo looked confused. That’s exactly what he went through when he was younger, minus the ear part. He did remember the soreness of having your body physically change like that though. But that only happened to hybrids. Was Tommy hiding something? <br/>Tubbo wanted to talk to Tommy about it, or tell Wilbur, but he knew he shouldn’t do something the other boy wouldn’t like. Plus, Tommy didn’t seem to be up for talking right now. <br/>Hesitantly, Tubbo held up the phone to his ear and called Wilbur. <br/><br/></p><p>“<em>Hello? Tubbo? Aren’t you in class?</em>”</p><p>Wilbur voice sounded a little distant, like he was in a car. Tommy stood leaning against the wall and didn’t pay much mind to Tubbo. The bee boy sighed </p><p>“No. Listen uh, Tommy doesn’t feel well. He told me he wanted to go home. I don’t know where his phone is. Could you pick him up and drive him home?”</p><p>On the other side of the line Wilbur had a bit of a surprised expression, but Tommy had acted a little off earlier so he agreed instantly like the big brother he was. This wasn’t the first time Wilbur had to give Tommy or Tubbo a ride home from school either.</p><p>“Of course. Tell him to go outside and I’ll drive by and pick him up.”</p><p>“Alright, thanks.”</p><p>“No problem, bee boy.”<br/>They both chuckled and hang up. Tubbo was just happy Tommy was getting home. The boy looked like he was about to fall asleep on the spot.  <br/>Tubbo went over to him and slung his arm around Tommy’s shoulder, the younger boy stirred a little and groaned. </p><p>“C’mon big man. Wilbur is picking you up.”</p><p>“Wilbur? You couldn’t call Phil?” </p><p>“Shut up and be thankful I called anyone.” <br/>They both laughed and went outside of the restrooms once there weren’t as many people in the hallway and people started going to their respective classes. Tubbo would have to explain why he was late, but he didn’t care right now. <br/>Tommy saw Quackity in the corner of his eye walking into a classroom, laughing loudly with Bad. Tommy made a mental note to tell Big Q he was sorry for walking away from him like that earlier. <br/><br/>The two of them made it outside, and Tommy whined a little when Tubbo left his side. They exchanged a quick glance before Tubbo turned around and walked back inside the school building. After just a minute or two, a black car drove up on one of the parking lots. <br/>Tommy recognised it and gingerly made his way towards it. </p><p>Inside, Wilbur sat in the driver’s seat and watched as Tommy slowly got in the passenger’s seat in the front next to him. Boy, he did look like he needed rest. There was something odd about him, but Wilbur focused on the road as he started driving. For once, Tommy was completely silent, Wilbur thought. </p><p>“How’re you doing?” </p><p>“Been better.” </p><p>That was the only conversation. Wilbur was worried, but he knew better than to push his brother. Tommy could get into one of his ‘moods’ every now and then.</p><p>He absentmindedly scratched his gills on his neck as he stopped the car outside of their house. Tommy thanked him quickly and shut the car door weakly before heading into the house. <br/>Wilbur just sighed and hoped this wasn’t too serious before turning on the engine and driving away again. </p><p>As Tommy closed the front door after him, he heard the familiar sound of Techno’s hooves against the wooden floor of the house. Techno with long, messy pink hair, a simple black t-shirt and pyjamas pants greeted him. Shit. He forgot Techno was working from home today.</p><p>”You’re home early. Everything okay?” <br/>The monotone voice had a slight softer tone to it, Tommy noticed. The young teen shook his head. </p><p>“No. I feel like shit. I just need some rest.” <br/>Tommy walked past Techno, who gave him a skeptical grunt before returning to typing on his laptop in the living room.</p><p>Tommy walked into his room and slammed the door behind him. He immediately throws himself on his bed face-down and almost melts into the blanket. He doesn’t care if it’s the middle of the day, he falls asleep as soon as he lays down. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>since hybrids bodies alter and change so much during the time they develop things such as tails, ears, horns, wings etc it often leads to them being exhausted or in pain</p><p>if any CCs are uncomfortable with fanfiction, please let me know! </p><p>hope you liked it, have a good day &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. change</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The others notice something is wrong. Phil tries to be a good dad.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“I’m telling you, something was off about him!” </p><p>“I agree with Tubbo.”</p><p>“You’re sure you’re not overreacting? Tommy is Tommy, it’s probably another one of his moods.”</p><p>”We <em>need</em> to tell Phil!”</p><p>Tommy woke up to the sound of muffled and hushed voices outside of his room. His face felt uncomfortable after sleeping in a weird position. He didn’t know how long he was out, but he guessed around a couple hours as it seemed like the sun was about to set soon. He was still not 100% up, but he felt way better now that he did before. <br/>
With a yawn, he sat on the edge of his bed. His head felt better now. He chuckled a bit, maybe he’d just needed some rest. </p><p>The voices outside of his room didn’t seem to stop whispering. It sounded like Tubbo, Wilbur and Techno. He knew at least Tubbo was there, as the never-stopping buzzing made him smile a bit. </p><p>Suddenly, memories from today’s school day flooded into Tommy’s brain. His smile vanished as he remembered seeing himself in the mirror with light grey <em>fur </em>on his ears. <br/>
Tommy instantly put his hand up to feel his ear. He winced as it wasn’t less sore than it was before. <br/>
It was almost completely covered in fur now.</p><p>“What the fuck?” <br/>
He didn’t have a mirror in his room, but he could feel how much more there was now than it had been just a few hours ago. He felt his stomach drop. This was weird. Was this really happening? Tommy was human. He knew he was. He had always been and will always be. <br/>
But as he thought of it, he had always been a little strange. Tommy was energetic and active, but he remembered Phil telling him how Tommy had a tendency to bite people when he was younger. They assumed it was just a thing he did, and he eventually grew out of it. <br/>
But now Tommy’s mind raced. Did he really grow out of it? Was it something they should’ve thought more about? What was going on? <br/>
He didn’t even realise that the voices outside had stopped talking until a faint knock on the door brought him out of his trance. </p><p>“Tommy? You up?” </p><p>It was Wilbur. Frozen in panic, Tommy started stuttering. He didn’t want them to see this. He was human. This wasn’t supposed to happen. The knocking returned, now a little harder. </p><p>“We know you’re up. I’m coming in.”</p><p>Shit. Shit shit shit. As Tommy tried to desperately tell them it was fine, the door was opened and three pair of eyes watched him. Wilbur looked concerned, Techno slightly interested and Tubbo very worried. All of the eyes looked at his face. They didn’t make eye contact though, because the only thing the eyes were focused on was his ears. </p><p>"What the fuck."</p><p> </p><p>And so, roughly ten minutes later, Tommy found himself sitting in the kitchen together with the rest of his family and his best friend. He was shamefully looking down, although he didn't really know why he felt so ashamed. He scratched his ears, they had become an almost crimson red colour from all the scratching and pulling on the fur. <br/>
Everyone was looking at him. Tommy didn't want to hear it, but he knew this wasn't supposed to happen to humans. He knew he was a hybrid, but it felt wrong. He didn't like change. Phil watched him with a fatherly look, his expression was soft and understanding. Tommy’s expression was tired, irritated and confused. </p><p>“Tommy”, Phil started. The silence in the room was choking Tommy. The boy’s gaze was stuck on the table. He was afraid to look the others in the eyes. </p><p>“Phil?” </p><p>“Yeah, Toms?”</p><p>“What’s going on?”, Tommy croaked out.<br/>
Deep down, he knew. But Tommy didn’t want to realise it. Being a hybrid wasn’t actually that big of a deal to Tommy, but the scary feeling of inevitable and sudden change made him tremble. It wasn’t the fact that he was a hybrid that made him feel like this, it was just the fact that he didn’t feel like one. <br/>
Tommy was comfortable with who he was. He had never liked change, and had cried for many nights when he was young and they had moved for the first time. <br/>
This was all so much for him. Phil’s wings shuffled nervously behind him. Tommy was a wreck when he was emotional, Phil knew. He tried his best to not metaphorically step on his son’s toes as he spoke with carefully chosen words. </p><p>“Tommy, you’re a hybrid. We thought you were human, but it seemed like you were an unusually late bloomer. This is just what hybrids go through when they... change.”</p><p>Even Phil himself felt unsure of the words. Techno slowly but steady put a hand on Tommy’s shoulder, making the younger boy flinch. It seemed like that was what pushed Tommy over the edge. </p><p>“I-I fucking <em>know</em> that, Phil! But I- I don’t want this. I don’t like this, at all!”</p><p>Tommy kept rambling, words flooding out of his mouth like a faucet that you couldn’t turn off. He gestured wildly with his hands and looked Wilbur, Techno, Tubbo and especially his father dead in the eyes. <br/>
Tommy wasn’t a hybrid. It didn’t matter what animal or what species it was, when he looked in the mirror he despised the fur that hadn’t been there a week ago. </p><p>“Tommy...” <br/>
The soft, deep voice quieted Tommy down. He still wore a pissed and confused scowl, but he was quiet. <br/>
The voice was Techno’s. It was different. Filled with an emotion that Tommy could only describe as hurt, sadness and worry. Tommy didn’t like it. He didn’t want pity. He was human. </p><p>The two sons looked at each other for a long while. As if they could see what the other was thinking if they focused hard enough. </p><p>In an act of pure instincts that Tommy hadn’t had before, he leapt away from his family. Techno was stunned, and Wilbur tried to chase after Tommy. <br/>
Tommy pushed past Tubbo, who stumbled clumsily until he stood upright again with a surprised look on his face. <br/>
The youngest boy almost wanted to run on all fours, but he didn’t. He ran for the front door and luckily, it was unlocked. Wilbur wasn’t as fast as him, and in a panicked frenzy Tommy opened the door, ran outside and shut the door in Wilbur’s face. He heard a pained yelp on the other side as he ran down their front yard and headed towards the small store down the road.</p><p>He needed to clear his thoughts. There was too much happening in just the span of a day for Tommy to take in. He hoped Wilbur understood and wasn’t too mad about Tommy slamming a door in his face. </p><p>Tommy sighed and began to walk towards the 24/7 open convenience store. Luckily, he knew a guy that worked there. Perhaps he had some advice on what to do.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>hope you liked it, this chapter is a bit shorter but i enjoyed writing this :)</p><p>a common thing for ND people is the dislike of change, and i project onto tommy a lot. hence the entire plot of the fanfiction.<br/>tommys hatred of his hybrid features is kind of a metaphor for hatred of new things and sureoundings :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. advice</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>tommy wants advice. callahan makes an appearance.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was dark already outside, the air was chilly and made Tommy shudder as he walked down the street. He wanted, no he <em>needed</em> advice on this. <br/>Every few seconds he scratched his ears, they had became an irritated red colour by now. He didn’t know why he had left like he did, or why he hadn’t just talked to his family about this. But he had been overwhelmed, scared of being judged and so very scared of this new change that he had just done the first thing his mind told him to. He was like an animal. </p><p>As he walked down the street in the dark, only wearing a pair of old jeans and his classic red-sleeved t-shirt he wondered where he was gonna go. <br/>Tommy had his mind set on the convenience store. He knew a guy there that could hopefully give him some advice.</p><p>Luckily, the store wasn’t far away and within a couple minutes Tommy saw the neon signs the store had in the window, and he went quickly inside. </p><p>“Hey, Callahan.”</p><p>The reindeer hybrid that Tommy had just greeted was sitting behind the counter, most likely looking at his phone underneath the table. <br/>When Tommy had spoken to him he shifted his gaze to him and calmly waved. His blank, almost smug expression was the same as he usually would wear. But when he saw Tommy with fur on his ears, his eyes slightly widened. Tommy sighed and walked up to the opposite side of the counter. Callahan started moving his hands wordlessly. </p><p>“<em>You look different.</em>”</p><p>Tommy wasn’t very good at ASL, but he had learned small bits of it. He taken a couple courses, mostly so that he could understand Callahan better. <br/>The boy bit his lip and nodded. </p><p>“Yeah. Turns out I’m a hybrid.”</p><p>He didn’t know what to say, Tommy never liked being judged. It was easier to talk to Callahan though, but his family was a different story. He and Callahan were good friends, they didn’t talk a lot but they weren’t on bad terms either. The reindeer boy and him shared the same sense of humour, so Tommy liked him. <br/>Callahan started moving his hands again, Tommy concentrated to understand it. </p><p>“<em>You don’t like it?”</em></p><p>He wasn’t sure if it was a question, but he chose to interpret it as such. </p><p>“No. I’ve always been a human, y’know? Suddenly having...this”, he pointed towards his irritated ears, “is just weird. I didn’t know how to talk to my family about it, so I just ran here.” </p><p>Callahan sighed, and looked at Tommy with a sympathetic face. His own brown fuzzy ear twitched, and he didn’t say anything for a couple minutes.</p><p>”<em>Why?” <br/></em></p><p>”Come again?”</p><p>Callahan looked irritated, as if to tell Tommy to let him finish. </p><p><em>”Why couldn’t you talk to your family?</em>”</p><p>Tommy looked down. He felt small and vulnerable. But Callahan didn’t rush him or ask anything else, simply allowing him to take his time. </p><p>“I don’t- I don’t know. I’m scared of what they’ll think of me if I change. Y’get it? If there’s anyone in the world I want to impress, it’s them. I can’t stand the thought of them not liking me anymore.”</p><p>Callahan nodded. Tommy quieted down.</p><p>“<em>Change is scary</em>.”</p><p>“Yeah.”</p><p>“<em>You’re not any different, even if you do change. You’re still Tommy. They’re not going to think any different of you.”</em></p><p>It took Tommy a while to eventually understand, but when he did puzzle the hand gestures together in his head he was about ready to cry. <br/>God, Tommy didn’t deserve such nice friends. Callahan smiled lightly. He wanted to crack some joke to lighten the mood, but he didn’t think it would be a good timing right now. He motioned for Tommy to come closer, and Tommy obeyed questioningly. </p><p>Callahan touched Tommy’s ears slightly, looking at them and observing them closely. </p><p>“Wh-what are you doing, big man?”</p><p>Tommy’s usual attitude had bounced back a bit, and he chuckled uncomfortably. Callahan let him go and looked thoughtful. </p><p>“<em>Do you have a tail?</em>“, he signed, completely ignoring Tommy’s question. Tommy looked a bit bewildered at the question, and shifted his weight from one foot to the other in embarrassment.</p><p>“Uh, no. Not yet, at least.”</p><p>“<em>Do you know what animal you are yet?</em>”</p><p>“I didn’t know we were playing twenty-one questions here-“</p><p>“<em>Answer the question, Tommy.”</em></p><p>The teen sighed and rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.</p><p>“No, I don’t know what animal I am and I honestly don’t care.”</p><p>Callahan nodded and rested his hands on the table for a couple seconds, not asking any further. </p><p>“<em>You should go home. Children shouldn’t be out this</em> <em>late. My boss won’t be happy either if I just sit and talk with you during work hours.</em>”</p><p>Tommy scoffs but agrees. Callahan’s boss was younger than Callahan himself, but he was smart, had a hot temper and was not afraid to punish his employees if they didn’t do their job. Tommy couldn’t remember his name, but he must admit he was slightly scared of the ram hybrid. Tommy was pretty sure he was an alcoholic too.</p><p>As he was about to comment on it, the door could be heard open and a girl stepped in. She had blonde hair and waved awkwardly at Tommy but gave Callahan a bright smile. </p><p>“<em>Hi, Alyssa</em>.”</p><p>“Hey.”</p><p>Tommy smirked at the two of them and made his way past Alyssa. When Alyssa couldn’t see, Tommy wiggled his eyebrows at the reindeer hybrid and pointed at Alyssa. Callahan gave him a warning look.</p><p>“Well, I’ll be going now. Hello and goodbye, Alyssa. Thanks for the help, Callahan.”</p><p>”<em>No problem.</em>”</p><p><br/>Tommy closed the door and left the warmth of the store behind him. He felt calmer now, more peaceful in his mind. But he still didn't want to go home. He picked up his phone, it was full of missed calls and unanswered messages. Tommy sighed and put it back in his pocket. He was cold and tired, but he headed the opposite way from home. Towards the local park.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>callahan and alyssa are seriously underrated, so i wanted to give them an appearance here. i also tried to not-so-subtly reference schlatt as Callahan's boss </p><p>hope you liked it! :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. concern</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>techno is angry. phil feels guilty. wilbur is worried and tubbo has an idea.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Phil felt guilty. Even if he knew it wasn't his fault, there was nothing he could do about it even if some of it was Tommy's own doing. He just couldn't help but feel so guilty when Tommy left them stunned and shut the door on Wilbur's face.<br/>
Tommy had always been a troublemaker in the family, but he was only a kid. Phil had many times both yelled and comforted the boys, seeing any of them this sad and insecure made his heart sting and his mind filled with guilt, guilt and more guilt. He was their father, he was supposed to prevent things like this to happen. He couldn't prevent Tommy growing hybrid features, he didn't even know the boy had them. But something in his mind told him that he was the fault of Tommy's agony. He knew it wasn't true, but he felt like it. And the heart often spoke louder than the mind, so he blindly chose to believe it.<br/>
Phil could hear the others in the house talking loudly, but the words didn't quite reach his ears. It wasn't until Wilbur put a hand on his father's shoulder that Phil finally looked up and saw a pair of light brown eyes meet his own that he realised he'd been spacing out.</p><p>"It's not your fault.", Wilbur spoke. He knew Phil, the man would beat himself up over anything.<br/>
Sure, so did Wilbur. Whenever anyone in their family felt sad or just down, he'd be there to cheer them up. When he had written a new song or learnt a new melody on his old and chipped guitar they'd be the first to hear it. Wilbur was a comforting light in their lives, of course he felt bad when he'd unintentionally hurt any of them. Like when he'd fight with Techno or get angry at Tommy or Tubbo.<br/>
He hated the feeling of betraying somebody, even if it wasn't really a betrayal. He understood how Phil felt. It was his father, after all.<br/>
Phil sighed and looked down. He looked like a child, how ironic.</p><p>"I know."</p><p>The silence returned for a few seconds.</p><p>”C’mon. Let’s go fix you up.”</p><p>The two of them left Techno and Tubbo and went to the bathroom to get a bandaid and a towel for Wilbur's bleeding nose. Phil still felt guilty, but he also knew Wilbur was right. His heart wasn't stinging so much of pain anymore. Wilbur still felt sad, but was happy to cheer someone up again. It made him feel safe.</p><p> </p><p>Meanwhile back in the kitchen, Techno is fuming. He doesn't know why exactly, it just happened. Techno was a genuinely cool guy, not really one to be emotional. The Techno he knew was sarcastic, determined and a cool big brother. Not this pig hybrid that was pacing the floor out of worry, scratching and pulling his hair not knowing what to do. <br/>
Damn it, he thought. Of course Tommy would pull something like this. Techno was angry and worried, so much so that it felt like a voice in his head was telling him to find Tommy.<br/>
Suddenly Techno snapped out of his walking session and shot an irritated look at Tubbo who’d been buzzing in the corner of the room for a good five minutes straight now. </p><p>“Would you quit that?”</p><p>”I can’t help it!” <br/>
<br/>
Techno groaned in an unusually loud manner. Tubbo looked apologetic, but he couldn’t do anything to stop the buzzing. His antennas were twitching with nerves and confusion. He wanted to say sorry to Tommy for overwhelming the already confused and tired boy like he had. But at the same he also wanted to smack him over the head. </p><p>Granted, Tubbo didn’t really know what Tommy felt like. Suddenly having an entire chunk of yourself changing like that must be hard for anybody, but Tommy was Tommy. He’d never been one to like change, neither was Tubbo. <br/>
The brunette just hoped that things would soon return to normal. Or, at least as normal as they possibly could be now. With a sigh, his small and fragile wings hoovered him out of the kitchen and into the lonely safe space that was his own room. His mind was buzzing with a whirlwind of thoughts. Before he closed the door behind him, he saw Techno sit down on on a chair with a grunt. </p><p>Of course, Tubbo wasn’t planning on just sitting here. That would be useless. If Tommy wasn’t coming home on his own accord, he would just have to find him himself, Tubbo thought. <br/>
The brunette had a more innocent look than Tommy, but god knows he could get up to just as much trouble as the younger blonde. <br/>
<br/>
Tubbo took a small piece of paper and wrote something down on it in a haste.</p><p>Then, he leaned his ear on the door, listening closely for any signs of footsteps or noises near him. When he felt like the coast was clear Tubbo placed the little handwritten note on his desk and went to the other side of his room. <br/>
He opened his window as quietly as possible. It was hard, he didn’t open it very often. But he managed to do it somehow. </p><p>With a determined look he jumped out and landed safely on the grass a meter below him. His wings hoovered him up just enough for him to close the window again. He was out. Now all he needed to do was find Tommy. Tubbo speedwalked out of their front yard and went down the road. </p><p><br/>
Techno watched as his father and his twin brother returned to the kitchen together. Wilbur now had a bandaid on his nose, and Techno laughed with a snort at his brother, lightening the mood a little. <br/>
Phil felt like something was off.</p><p>”Techno, where’s Tubbo?”</p><p>The piglin looked down, smile disappearing from his face. </p><p>“In his room. D’ya want me to get him?”</p><p>Phil nodded.</p><p>”Yeah, I wanna talk with him.”</p><p>Techno nodded once and got up from his seat. Tubbo was most likely in his room, playing something or drawing to get his mind off of things, he thought. That boy was too good for own good. </p><p>As Techno opened the door, he was met with dead silence and an empty room. Weird. </p><p>“Tubbo? ...Toby?”</p><p>The pinkhaired boy opened closets and looked under the bed. Panic began to well up in him as he realised Tubbo was nowhere to be found. <br/>
In the corner of his eye, on the brunette boy’s desk, he saw a small post-it note. In a flash, he grabbed the note and read it carefully. </p><p>‘<strong>Whent outside. Gonna find Tommy. Be back latr, sorry.</strong></p><p><strong>- Tubbo</strong>’</p><p>The misspelled note could only be Tubbo’s. He was the only one in the family that would cover his notes in small drawings of bees and hearts before seemingly disappearing at a time like this.<br/>
Techno was frozen in place. </p><p>“DAD!”</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>currently experimenting with these characters, sorry if its ooc. its the first fic i've written with them so it might be a little odd</p><p>hope you liked it :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. understanding</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>understanding yourself can be harder than understanding others.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As Tubbo had walked a few meters away from his house, the sudden realisation set in.</p><p>
  <em>It was so cold outside.</em>
</p><p>Sure, it was march and it defiantly had been colder the last month. But standing outside late evening without a jacket in late winter/early spring wasn't exactly comfortable. How the hell Tommy had managed to get so far away from the house was beyond Tubbo, and his antennas shivered as the cold air stung his his skin and made his cheeks a rosy red. His mind was swirling with thoughts and ideas.</p><p>If I was Tommy, where would I go?</p><p>Tubbo sighed. That question was very hard, considering that Tommy could be anywhere on the planet earth right now. Tommy was energetic and unpredictable to the max. But there was no way for Tubbo to find his best friend if he just kept standing here, so he walked down the street, towards the park. </p><p> </p><p>Tommy was sitting at a bench in the park. His head was hurting from everything that had been happening, and his fingers were red and numb from the cold outside. He would've grabbed a jacket if he had time, and now he regretted not doing so. He was tired, cold and irritated at everything, but he had taken Callahan's words to his heart. Tommy sighed as he watched the leaves on the ground rustle in the wind. He wanted to go home, to feel the warmth of a blanket and a cup of tea, but he was scared of what his family and his best friend was going to think. What if they didn't want him to come home?<br/>
Tears stung the corner of his eyes as the thought of his family not wanting him filled his head.</p><p>His ear twitched, Tommy didn’t react. Instead he curled up further on the bench. He looked quite miserable. His eyes, nose and cheeks were a rosy red while the rest of his skin was pale and cold. He felt so lonely. <br/>
<br/>
</p><p>Tubbo had gotten to the park, and was hugging himself tightly for warmth. His fragile wings were trembling as Tubbo scanned the area fanatically. The blonde person curled up on a bench a couple meters away had to be Tommy. <br/>
<br/>
Without thinking twice, Tubbo ran. He ran to his best friend, simply happy to see him again. <br/>
Tommy didn’t seem to notice, his head buried in his clothes. </p><p>When Tommy felt someone sit next to him he didn’t look up. When the stranger put a hand on his shoulder, Tommy assumed he was going to be mugged. But when a muffled, familiar buzzing reached Tommy’s ears, he slowly peeked up. <br/>
Their eyes met. A pair of big, hopeful light blue eyes, filled with happiness and youth. Two deep, dark blue eyes packed full of determination and adventure. <br/>
Tubbo smiled, Tommy did the same. <br/>
Tubbo hugged his best friend, Tommy did as well. </p><p>“Hey.”, Tubbo said softly.</p><p>“Hi.”, Tommy croaked out. </p><p>A comfortable silence filled the space between them. Tubbo was happy to have found his brother again. Tommy was happy to be found. </p><p>But the silence didn’t last. Tubbo looked at Tommy. </p><p>“C’mon, let’s go home.”</p><p>Tommy froze and didn’t move. Tubbo noticed. The younger boy let out a mumbling protest. </p><p>“I don’t want to.” </p><p>He sounded childish, but that was the only thing Tommt could think of right now. Tubbo seemed slightly hurt. </p><p>“Why not?”</p><p>“Because- Because I’m scared of what they’ll think of me. Of what you’ll think of me.” </p><p>Tubbo gasped slightly. Was that why Tommy had ran away? Because he was scared his family wouldn’t like him? The thought crushed Tubbo, and he quickly started rambling. </p><p>“No, no. Tommy, we would never think anything different of you!” </p><p>“But-“</p><p>“No! Look, it’s been a lot happening. Let’s just go home and settle this, please?” </p><p>Tommy was going to protest again, but Tubbo’s sad and pleading eyes made him give up. He’d come home, but only because Tubbo wanted him to. <br/>
He nodded and they got up and began walking home. They were chatting together, just like they usually did when they went to school. To Tommy’s relief, nothing was different. Tubbo didn’t think or act differently, and neither did he. Maybe this wasn’t that bad. </p><p>“So you’ve been here for fifteen minutes?” </p><p>“Oh, no. I stopped by at Callahan. Had a chat with him.”</p><p>“While he was working? His boss couldn’t’ve liked that.”</p><p>“Thankfully, his boss wasn’t there. God knows where I would’ve be now if his boss had seen me.”</p><p>The teenagers laugh together. Tubbo’s laugh was high-pitched and genuine. Tommy’s laugh was just a loud exhale and wheezing. Just like it always had been. Tommy felt happy. </p><p>The boys walked onto their lawn, both of them being happy to finally get to their home again. The closer they got the more Tommy’s heart started to race. <br/>
Tubbo must’ve noticed, because he stopped in the middle of his step. </p><p>“Hey.”, he said to get Tommy’s attention. The younger boy’s head shot up with wide eyes. Tubbo smiled.</p><p>”It’ll be fine.” </p><p>Tommy nodded and hoped Tubbo was right. </p><p>The bewinged brunette knocked on the front door, the same Tommy had used to almost break Wilbur’s nose, in an almost theatrical manner. There was heard a shuffle and some muffled voices from inside. The door slowly opened. It was Phil. </p><p>“Hello!”<br/>
Tubbo waved happily.</p><p>“Hey, dad.”  <br/>
Tommy scratched his neck.</p><p>Phil first looked like he’d seen a ghost. Then, he pulled both of them into a warm hug inside the house, closing the door behind them. It felt like all the coldness was gone from Tommy’s body. He hugged Phil back even harder as he felt his father’s big, black, loving wings surround him and in that moment he felt nothing but safety.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>i just love writing fluff and family feels. im sorry </p><p>leave any feedback or kudos if u want to, it helps a lot! &lt;3<br/>hope u liked this chapter :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. home</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>phil is a good dad</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Phil heard Techno yell for him, his heart dropped. Was he hurt? Had something happened? His mind raced as his wings stretched out on instinct, nearly hitting Wilbur in the face again. The dolphin hybrid gave an irritated grunt at his father, but Phil didn't notice. The older man ran out of the kitchen, towards Tubbo's room. His big, black wings were still outstretched in their small house, and they kept knocking things over. As Phil approached the silent Techno, he began to gain his selfcontrol back and slowly and neatly folded his wings in again.</p><p>As soon as Phil was close enough, Techno shoved the small note in his father's hand. Phil's eyes read the words closely, widening for each short sentence. <br/>Now both Tommy and Tubbo were out of the house, god knows where. Phil felt nauseous of worry, Techno must've noticed because he quickly put his hand on Phil's arm, snapping him out of whatever thoughts he'd been thinking. The older man sighed tiredly, massaging the bridge of his nose in an exhausted way.</p><p>Techno looked at Phil awkwardly, not knowing exactly how to comfort him. </p><p>“We’ll find them. They’ll come home eventually.” </p><p>Techno tried to keep his voice steady. It was late evening, who knew what could happen to those two in the dark. <br/>He didn’t even want to think about it. </p><p>Wilbur made his way to his brother and father and Phil showed him the note. <br/>Wilbur went as pale as a sheet. Concern and worry overflowing his brain, bleeding through his coherent thoughts, his mind swimming in questions and confusion. It made his whole body feel numb. </p><p>“If they’re not back in thirty minutes, I’ll get them myself.” Techno muttered awkwardly. Wilbur looked at him like he was crazy.</p><p>”Thirty minutes!? We need to find them now! They could be hurt!” <br/>Phil put a fatherly hand on Wilbur’s shoulder, making the young adult quiet down. </p><p>“Give them time. It’s been a rough day.” </p><p>With that, Phil gave them a tired nod. Techno sighed, left the two of them and went to his own room. His ears drooping down, filled with sadness. Wilbur did the same. <br/>Phil sat down on the floor, next to the door. If Tommy needed time to process this, Phil would give him as much time as he wanted. Wether it was days, weeks, months or even years. He just wanted the boy to feel happy and safe.<br/><br/></p><p>As the minutes passed, Phil’s eyes grew more and more tired. At one point he was sure he’d dozed off, but his head snapped up again and he was awake. He couldn’t fall asleep. What if his boys came home and no one noticed? Phil wouldn’t allow that. </p><p>Just as he was about to get up and make some coffee to get more energy, a knock on the door made him stop in his tracks. <br/>He ran to the door, wings outstretched and knocking over various things. Techno yelled from upstairs, shouting something about Phil needing to control those wings. But there was soon footsteps of Wilbur and Techno coming downstairs too.</p><p>Phil carefully opened the door, and was met with two pair of eyes. Big light blue eyes, looking happy as ever. Tired, puffy, dark blue eyes not meeting his gaze. </p><p>“Hello!”</p><p>”Hey, dad.” </p><p>Phil smiled softly. A whirlwind of emotions washed over him, and in a flash he pulled both boys in a big fatherly hug. He felt Tubbo buzzing happily in his grasp, and he felt Tommy melt into him. Phil’s wings surrounded them, shut every bad thought out and made them feel at home. </p><p>His wings slowly fell limp again, relaxing on the floor in a strange manner. The three of them felt two more people join the hug. <br/>Wilbur was clinging onto them with a bright smile. Techno was awkwardly hugging them with one hand, the other hand in his pocket. Phil smiled warmheartedly and pulled them both closer. </p><p>Tommy was close to crying, and only managed to mutter quietly. </p><p>“I’m sorry.”</p><p>Phil gasped and pulled away, looking shocked. </p><p>“No, Tommy. This isn’t your fault. C’mon, let’s go inside and get you some warm clothes.” <br/>Tommy nodded weakly and let go of his father, Wilbur leading him to his room. <br/>Tubbo’s wings fluttered and he let go as well, walking towards the kitchen. Phil grabbed his wrist.</p><p>“That means you too, Tubbo. You’re cold as ice.” <br/>Tubbo watched him with a surprised expression, that turned into a sheepish smile. Phil chuckled, ruffled the brunette’s hair and pulled him towards the boy’s room.</p><p>He left the boy to change in private and turned around, Techno looking at him with a smirk.</p><p>“What?” Phil asked, tilting his head. </p><p>“I told you so.” Techno replied sarcastically, and then walked away with nothing else to say. </p><p>Phil smiled fondly. His boys may cause mayhem sometimes, but he loved them nonetheless.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>more family fluff. i am so sorry.</p><p>leave kudos if u want to, hope you liked it! &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. acceptance</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>he may not like it yet, but he’ll accept it</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>For the next couple days, Tommy had locked himself in his room. </p><p>Both him and Tubbo ended up with a slight cold after being outside that night, but Tubbo had still been pretty talk-active. Unlike Tommy, who’d only come out of his room to eat. And when he did come out, he’d hide himself under a blanket, bring the food to his room and later bring the empty plate back. </p><p>Wilbur had knocked on the door and walked inside Tommy’s room once, which resulted in a lot of yelling and various threats from Tommy. According to Wilbur, the boy had acted like a feral animal. <br/>The big brother had understood though. The same thing had happened to himself when he was younger. His skin had been so sensitive and in pain from his gills and scales growing, and the only place he felt at home in was the bathtub. Techno had also acted feral in a way, hoarding every shiny thing he could find and was violant towards anyone that came close to him. <br/>Wilbur sighed and let Tommy be, hoping he’d just need a few more days. </p><p>A few more days went, Tubbo had missed Tommy more and more. They were both very clingy, and this was the first time in so long that there’d been days without them talking to each other. <br/>So finally, after much consideration, Tubbo had knocked on Tommy’s door. He’d expected to be met with a string of curse words and possibly an angry glance, but was instead welcomed inside with a soft voice. </p><p>As soon as Tubbo walked in, he gasped. Then, he smiled and giggled fanatically. </p><p>Tommy’s room was just as messy as always, but this time it was more so. If you looked closely you could see stashed away and hidden food or valuables in corners of the room.<br/>Tubbo then took a look at the big man himself. Tommy’s ears were fully grown, light grey and black in their colours. His nails were slightly pointer and his nose looked more animal-like. But the thing that made Tubbo almost laugh out loud, was Tommy’s face and tail.<br/>Tommy had grown a tail, as slightly expected. It was the same colour as his ears, but had stripes of black fur going around it. He also had gotten a facial marking. It looked almost like a big, black birthmark. It went over the area of his eyes, just like a raccoon. </p><p>Tommy was a raccoon. </p><p>When Tubbo realised this he started to giggle furiously, and Tommy’s soft demeanour vanished quickly. What could be heard from downstairs in the kitchen was Tommy, angrily yelling at the top of his lungs and Tubbo laughing his ass off. </p><p>Tubbo had wiped the happy tears from his eyes. Tommy had quieted down, throat hurting from yelling, ears were folded down defensively. His new hybrid features made it hard for him to hide his feelings. </p><p>The brunette had buzzed happily, asking Tommy if he’d like to come down to the others. After much thinking, Tommy nodded slowly.  <br/>They had walked down the stairs together, Tommy’s heart beating more for every step he took. But the buzzing from Tubbo had calmed him down. <br/>He passed a mirror that hung on the wall, and stopped in his tracks. Tommy looked at himself, self conscious about his new look. In a strange way, he felt like himself. This was him, he knew this was how he was supposed to look like. He barely even remembered what he looked like before all of this. But something in his head told him that the old him was better, that this felt wrong. That his family or friends wouldn’t like him. <br/>Tommy was stuck in his sea of insecurity until a presence behind him made itself known with a cough. He turned around, and those happy, big blue eyes that only one person had met his. Tubbo nodded his head towards the living room, quietly telling him to go down.</p><p>When they got down, the rest of their family were sprawled out on various furniture. Wilbur tuning his guitar on the ground in front of the couch, Techno doing whatever on his laptop next to Phil watching TV on the small sofa. Tommy wanted to just walk in, sit next to Wilbur and act like nothing. But he knew that wasn’t possible now.<br/>So he braced himself and stood in the doorway awkwardly, not knowing what to say. The others were turned away from him, not noticing he was there yet. </p><p>“Uh...”</p><p>His tone was small and scared, but it got everyone’s attention. Multiple voices started talking at once. </p><p>“Oh, Tommy. How are you feeling, mate?” Phil’s first thought had of course been to know how Tommy was feeling. The man cared more about these boys than himself. Phil’s eyes were proud and fatherly, giving Tommy a feeling of safety and making him feel less bad about everything.</p><p>“Welcome, gremlin child.” Wilbur had said with a smirk, with the usual older-sibling-humour. The nickname was something Wilbur mostly used, and Tommy thought it was funny. It made Tommy chuckle a bit and he was happy that Wil didn’t act differently now than he had done a week ago. </p><p>“Tommy’s a raccoon? Should’a guessed.” Techno said and laughed lightheartedly with a snort. Tommy wanted to insult him back, but the pig was right. It did make sense in a weird way, Tommy supposed. </p><p>They all let Tommy and Tubbo sit down on the couch. Right between Phil and Techno, next to each other. Wilbur sat right underneath them, head leaning against the sofa. </p><p>The family had all watched various movies and series that day, not bothering to do much else. <br/>At some point, Tommy had fallen asleep. His body was tired and he felt weak, so he hadn’t been able to keep his eyes open for long. </p><p>Tommy had awoken later in the night, feeling rested. When he looked around, he noticed everyone else were sleeping and that the TV was still playing, now with the sound turned off though. <br/>Tommy had just laid there, enjoying the quiet and calm presence of other people for a while. <br/>He still didn’t like all this new change to himself, he didn’t know exactly how to manage it or how to act yet. He had a hard time looking in the mirror and not freaking out. He was scared of getting made fun of. But he supposed this wasn’t too bad. <br/>He could accept it. He couldn’t quite say he liked it, it was too overwhelming still. But he knew it was now a part of him, and he would figure it out eventually. <br/>In time, he’d feel okay. Maybe even enjoy his new change. But for now, simply acceptance will have to do. </p><p>Tommy yawned and leaned himself on the fast asleep Tubbo. He was too tired to think, that was something he could do in the morning. Now, he just wanted the warmth from his best friend and family. He smiled slightly before drifting off, forgetting about all of his problems for just a small period of time. <br/>Tomorrow was another day, now he wanted nothing else than to dream away in the safety of his loving home.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>i didn’t want tommy to immediately be completely okay with his changes. liking change takes time and patience, you can always accept something but you may never really like it. eventually you may grow to like something, but you cant do so until you accept that it is a part of you.<br/>this is the end of this story, hope you liked it and i hope you have a good day! &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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